POT HARVEST TIME MEANS WATCH IT' IN NATIONAL FORESTS

Growing and harvesting illegal marijuana gardens on National Forest
lands continues to increase and these operations present a safety
hazard to forest visitors and employees, according to the Mendocino
National Forest Service.

"We want to remind forest visitors that this is occurring and what
they should do if they encounter a growing site when they are in the
woods," Jim Fenwood, Mendocino National Forest Supervisor said. "This
is a particular concern now since deer hunting is underway and the
Mendocino National Forest is a very popular hunting location."

Most of the illegal gardens are in very remote locations, he said.
National Forests have vast and mostly uninhabited lands, with many
areas of rich, fertile soil and a climate that provides suitable
conditions for growing marijuana. The plants are put in the ground
during the spring and harvested in late September and October.

"Deer hunting season brings thousands of hunters into the national
forest and there is potential for forest visitors to accidentally come
upon an active illegal marijuana garden," said Capt. Daryl Rush of
Mendocino National Forest Patrol.

"If a private citizen comes upon something suspicious, don't enter the
area; just leave and notify local law enforcement authorities
immediately," Rush advised. "Do not enter any garden area."

The typical marijuana garden has changed from the late 1980s and early
'90s. During that time, the typical operation had 100 to 1,000 plants.
These days, operations are far larger, ranging in size from 1,000 to
20,000 plants, or more. The larger growing operations often have armed
individuals tending the gardens, Rush said.

Forest Service law enforcement officers work with county Sheriff's
Departments, and Campaign Against Marijuana Planting teams. Headed by
the Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, CAMP teams
were created in 1983 for the primary purpose of eradicating illegal
marijuana from public lands in California.

According to Rush, so far this year local Sheriff's Departments in
Glenn, Tehama, Colusa and Lake counties, and Forest Service law
enforcement officers have eradicated over 17,000 plants from the
Mendocino National Forest, with a street value of $51 million.

Most recently, on Sept. 7, Forest Service law enforcement officers and
Glenn County Sheriff's Officers eradicated more than 3,000 plants with
a street value of $12 million from the Mendocino National Forest.

In Mendocino County -- though not in the Mendocino National Forest --
the County of Mendocino Marijuana Eradication Team, aka COMMET, has
taken 70,191 plants out of 307 gardens, year to date, according to
COMMET commander, Rusty Noe.

Officers have come across camps with pole and barbed wire fences and
numerous firearms, Rush said. Growers can live in the forest near
these sites for months at a time. These camps often have cooking and
sleeping areas which are within view of the cultivation site. Some
camps have tents, hammocks and sleeping bags on the ground and have
been found with large overhanging tarps as cover for the entire campsite.

There are some things to watch for which may indicate marijuana is
being grown in an area, states the Forest Service. They can include:

Isolated tents in the forest where no recreational activity is
present.

The use of trailers with no evidence of recreational
activities.

A pattern of vehicular traffic or a particular vehicle seen in the
same isolated area on a regular basis.

Unusual structures located in remote forested areas, with buckets,
garden tools, fertilizer bags, etc.

Signs of cultivation or soil disturbance in unlikely
areas.

Black piping and trash scattered in forested areas.

In addition to the criminal nature of the marijuana gardens, there is
substantial environmental degradation caused by the illegal growers,
states the Forest Service. Excessive use of herbicides and pesticides
to remove competing vegetation and gnawing rodents (which are a food
source for the northern spotted owls), human waste and garbage, all
end up in rivers after winter rains. Also, the irrigation systems
dewater small streams needed by fish, and the compacting of the soil
in the gardens leads to erosion.

For more information or to notify law enforcement authorities of a
suspected garden area in the Mendocino National Forest, call Rush at
(530) 934-1164.